In concurrent ceremonies on both coasts, Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) this evening (3/5) unveiled the winners of the 2023 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional categories.
The film winners were Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Original Screenplay on the strength of Everything Everywhere All at Once. Sarah Polley took the adapted screenplay honor for Women Talking, based upon the book by Miriam Toews. And Brett Morgen won for best documentary screenplay on the basis of Moonage Daydream.
Among the marquee TV winners were Severance for both drama series and new series, The Bear for comjedy series, and The White Lotus for limited series. Better Call Saul and Hacks topped the episodic drama and episodic comedy categories, respectively.
Here’s a full rundown of the evening’s winners:
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Everything Everywhere All At Once, Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert; A24
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Women Talking, Screenplay by Sarah Polley, Based upon the Book by Miriam Toews; Orion Pictures/MGM
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Moonage Daydream, Written by Brett Morgen; Neon
TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
Severance, Written by Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Kari Drake, Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman, Helen Leigh, Anna Ouyang Moench, Amanda Overton; Apple TV+
COMEDY SERIES
The Bear, Written by Karen Joseph Adcock, Joanna Calo, Rene Gube, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Alex O’Keefe, Catherine Schetina, Christopher Storer; FX Networks
NEW SERIES
Severance, Written by Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Kari Drake, Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman, Helen Leigh, Anna Ouyang Moench, Amanda Overton; Apple TV+
LIMITED SERIES
The White Lotus, Written by Mike White; HBO/HBO Max
TV & NEW MEDIA MOTION PICTURES
Honor Society, Written by David A. Goodman; Paramount+
ANIMATION
“Rectify” (Undone), Written by Elijah Aron & Patrick Metcalf; Prime Video
EPISODIC DRAMA
“Plan and Execution” (Better Call Saul), Written by Thomas Schnauz; AMC
EPISODIC COMEDY
“The One, The Only” (Hacks), Written by Lucia Aniello & Paul W. Downs & Jen Statsky; HBO/HBO Max
COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Senior Writers Daniel O’Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali Writers Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Mark Kramer, Sofia Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, Chrissy Shackelford; HBO/HBO Max
COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Inside Amy Schumer, Writers Georgie Aldaco, Rosebud Baker, Jeremy Beiler, Cazzie David, Tova Diker, Rachel Feinstein, Derek Gaines, Jon Glaser, Jaye McBride, Tim Meadows, Christine Nangle, Daniel Powell, Tami Sagher, Yamaneika Saunders, Amy Schumer, Sascha Seinfeld Joe Strazzullo, Sydnee Washington, Ron Weiner; Paramount+
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel, Written by Jerrod Carmichael; HBO/HBO Max
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Baking It, Writers Neil Casey, Chad Carter, Jessica McKenna, Zach Reino; Peacock
DAYTIME DRAMA
Days of Our Lives, Head Writer Ron Carlivati Writers Lorraine Broderick, Jazmen Darnell Brown, Joanna Cohen, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Cheryl Davis, Kirk Doering, Christopher Dunn, Jamey Giddens, David Kreizman, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Katherine D. Schock; NBC
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“Prison or Palace” (Life by Ella), Written by Hernan Barangan; Apple TV+
SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA
Three Busy Debras, Written by Sandy Honig, Mitra Jouhari, Sarah Sherman, Alyssa Stonoha, Diana Tay, Evan Waite; Adult Swim
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Lies, Politics and Democracy” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Episode Two: An American (1775 – 1790)” (Benjamin Franklin), Written by Dayton Duncan; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“The Water Crisis in Jackson, Mississippi” (CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell), Written by James Hutton, Rob Rivielle; CBS News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Targeting Americans” (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Oriana Zill de Granados; CBS News
DIGITAL NEWS
“How Oregon’s Prison System Retaliated Against Its Most Effective Jailhouse Lawyer,” Written by Jessica Schulberg; HuffPost.com
RADIO/AUDIO NOMINEES
RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
“The War in Jennifer Weiss” (Crime Show), Written by Emma Courtland & Mitch Hansen; Gimlet Media
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Hail And Farewell: Saluting 5 Who Made A Difference,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“What I Wish I Knew Before I Started IVF” (The Waves), Written by Cheyna Roth; Slate
PROMOTIONAL WRITING NOMINEES
ON AIR PROMOTION
“CBS Celebrates Juneteenth,” Written by Justin DiLauro; CBS News
Special honors
WGAW’s 2023 Writers Guild Awards ceremony was hosted by comedian-writer-producer Janelle James (Abbott Elementary, Central Park).
In addition, the WGAW presented several honorary special achievement and service awards at its West Coast ceremony:
Screenwriter-director Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation) received WGAW’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, presented to Kaufman by Academy Award-nominated actress Jessie Buckley (Women Talking, I’m Thinking of Ending Things); legendary TV showrunner Yvette Lee Bowser (Living Single, A Different World) received WGAW’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement presented by NAACP Image Award-nominated actress Kim Fields (Living Single); and acclaimed playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz received WGAW’s Paul Selvin Award for the film She Said (screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Based on the New York Times investigation by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Rebecca Corbett and the Book She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey) presented by actress and activist Sarah Ann Masse. The Selvin Award is given to the script that best embodies the spirit of the constitutional and civil rights and liberties that are indispensable to the survival of free writers everywhere
WGAE’s 75th Annual Writers Guild Awards ceremony in New York was hosted by comedian-writer-actress Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest, Welcome to Buteaupia).
In addition, the WGAE presented several honorary special achievement and service awards at its New York ceremony:
Writer-director Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman, Malcom X) was presented with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement by Dr. Sheril Antonio, interim chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU and board member at Ghetto Film School; Paul Simms (What We Do In The Shadows, NewsRadio), widely respected for his uncanny ability to mentor and support series creators and inspire writers rooms, was presented with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence by Donald Glover (Atlanta, 30 Rock); and Penelope Koechl (Guiding Light, Venice the Series) was presented with the Richard B. Jablow Award for Dedicated Service to the Guild by the previous honoree, WGAE VP for film/television/streaming Lisa Takeuchi Cullen (The Endgame, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).
